Flowers in the Meadow A Hunger Games One Shot
by TeenageWildlife
Summary: What happens when Prim and Rue meet. :


A/N

This is my first FanFic, and therefore my first story posted on this website. Any advice would be appreciated, as I'm very new to website and I'm still getting used to how everything works. Thank you in advance. :) ~TeenageWildlife_

Primrose Everdeen lay, alone and peaceful, aware only of the deep, calming blue of the sky. There was not a cloud to be seen, and the warmth of the sun's rays fell across her skin like a blanket; warm enough to numb her mind, slightly, but not in the least bit uncomfortable. Her eyes travelled lazily across the endless blue, while she absent-mindedly curled her fingers through the long, thick grass upon which she lay. She smiled slightly, her mind drifting in and out of thoughts, like the smell of freshly baked bread, and the vague, half-forgotten sound of her father's whistle.

At first, the only sound was that of distant birdsong, but after a long while, it seemed to be joined by a quiet humming, that almost seemed to emanate from her own body, and flow into the grass and the sky itself. She was no different from the sky, she thought to herself, nor the birds that sang. She was the flowers and the grass, that swayed gently, and the calm wind that blew them. She was the trees, standing tall and ever growing, always providing life for others. She was even the delicate sunlight that fell upon her own skin, and, most importantly, she was the humming sound coming from the middle of her head; although, as she listened, the humming seemed to take on a more distinct form. At first, it was barely discernible, but as time passed, the noise seemed to rise and fall in a slow changing pattern. She began to listen more carefully, and as she did so, she fancied she could make out slight breaks in the sound, that might have been the beginning and ending of words. She waited patiently, knowing that she had all of the time in the world, and that the nature of the song would only reveal itself when it chose to. Her eyes still trailed the sky, but her mind was more focused now, although it still contained all of the sleepy peacefulness that it had held before. Then, like a wave slowly making its way along a still beach, before breaking on the shore, the sadness hit her, and with it, came the all too familiar words of her favourite song.

Deep in the meadow, under the Willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your days are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.

The voice was silent, and Prim realised that a cascade of tears were streaming down her cheeks. She pressed her fingers to her lips, as though she was telling herself to be quiet, and drew in a trembling breath. Only after she had wiped her eyes dry did she let it out again, and raise her head, in search of the solitary singer. At first, she saw only the breathtaking beauty of the meadow that surrounded her. The grass was long, thick, and deep green. Each and every blade seemed important, as though each had lived here, in this meadow, forever, and each had its own story to tell. Some distance away the meadow stopped suddenly, and gave way to a long line of trees, that spread on as far as the horizon. The place seemed unbearably familiar, but she could not make herself remember why.

It was not until she stood and looked around that she saw the other girl, whom she realised with a feeling of surprise, had been lying mere feet away from her in the grass. Without having to be told, she knew instinctively that this was the girl that had been singing her lullaby. It was not until she straightened herself, standing properly for the first time, that the other girl seemed to notice her. She did not show any sign of alarm, but acted as though she had merely been waiting for Prim to notice her.

"Hello." The girl said, simply. Prim blinked, startled, she had forgotten there was any form of communication other than singing.

Tentatively, she reached out with her voice, feeling as though she was speaking for the first time.

"Hello." She said, feeling slightly dumb, but the girl just smiled at her, and then was still once more. They stayed like that for some time, their eyes locked on each other's. The girl's, calm and welcoming, and Prim's, nervous and uncertain. It suddenly struck Prim that had seen this girl before, and she studied her appearance for the first time. Her skin was dark, and her eyes were brown, as well as her hair, which was thick and bushy. She was small in stature, and Prim realised that they were, in fact, very similar in figure. Still, she could not think where she might have seen the girl before.

"What's your name?" She asked, finally. The girl smiled again.

" My name's Rue," She responded. "Why don't you lie down?" Her question seemed perfectly sensible, and so without another thought, Prim lay on the grass beside Rue, and together, they continued to gaze at the sky dreamily.

It was a long time before either of them spoke again. When the other girl, Rue, finally spoke, it seemed to Prim as though she had known already known what she was going to ask, and at exactly what moment, because, just then, it was the only thing to be said.

"You're Prim, aren't you?" She asked. Prim had almost forgotten that she had ever had a name, or even another way of living than lying in the lush green meadow and talking quietly to the girl named Rue. As soon as her name was spoken, she realised where she had seen the girl before.

"I am." She replied, and then hesitated nervously, before adding, "I remember you now. You're Katniss's friend." Although her eyes were focused on the sky, she swore she could feel the girl beside her smile.

"Katniss was my friend." She said, happily. "I'm glad you think I was a friend to her, too." Prim couldn't help it, she smiled too.

"Of course you were." She said. "She loved you." A sort of warmth seemed to be emanating from the girl now, and she got the feeling for the first time that that were in some way connected. Being close to her gave her a feeling of joy, and a desire to make others feel happy themselves. For a few minutes she revelled in the feeling. Partially because it was such a nice sensation, but mostly because she thought being near her must have been making Rue feel happy as well.

However, the feeling was broken suddenly an unexpectedly, when a dark thought crossed Prim's mind.

"But Rue…" She began, cautiously. "I thought you…weren't you- weren't you killed?" Her last word seemed to linger heavily in the air for a minute after she had spoken it.

"I was," Rue replied. "I was, and so were you. We died, so we left the old place, and we came here." Prim blinked, running the words over in her mind. It all seemed to make so much sense, in Rue's off handed tone, but there were, of course, countless questions still nagging at the back of her mind. Her next question was one she didn't really want to ask, but she knew it was unavoidable.

"But, where is here?" She said. For a moment, everything was silent, except for the faint chattering of the birds in the trees. Suddenly, Rue started signing.

"Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your days are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you"

Prim nodded. She understood perfectly, now. Once again, the song had brought tears to her eyes.

"But-" she said, swallowing the lump that was rising in her throat. "But what about Katniss- and everyone else?"

Again, Rue's response was as carefree as ever.

"We'll see them all again." She said, her tone calm and reassuring. "Some of them are already here, we just have to want to find them." Prim bit her lip.

"But it'll be a long time before we see them again, won't it?" She said. "I- I'm going to miss everyone."

"I know." Said Rue. "I miss my family too, but I hope it's a long, long time before I see them again, because as nice as it is here, the other place can be nice too, if you want it to be."

All of this time, Prim had been holding back a flow of tears, but now, she could no longer fight them off.

"But I don't-" She said, letting out a loud sob. "I don't want t-to leave them yet. I want to be with Katniss, and Mom, and Buttercup, and…I- I want to- to…" But she couldn't go on. She buried her face in her hands as sobs racked her body. Tears flowed through her fingers, landing on the grass like dewdrops, and suddenly the girl was embracing her, and she too was crying, and they were both sobbing in each other's arms.

"But- it- it'll b-be alright." Said Rue, between sobs. "B-because we're here- here t-together now, and w-we can be friends, can't we?" Prim nodded, somehow managing to smile through her tears.

"Yes." She said. "We c-can be friend, Rue, we can always b-be friends."

And as the two children cried for their families, the wind blew through the flowers and the grass and the trees that they were a part of, the sun crept slowly below the horizon, melting the deep blue of the sky into brilliant shades of pink, purple, orange and red, and a flock of Jabberjays flying overhead whistled a mournful song to the open sky, to which the girls joined in.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you.


End file.
